Alaska

Alaska is a super-duper big state in the United States, way up north! It’s so far north that it’s almost touching the North Pole. It’s like a giant puzzle piece that doesn’t touch the rest of the country.

To the east, it has Canada, and across a watery path called the Bering Strait, you can almost see Russia! The cold Arctic Ocean is to its north, and the big Pacific Ocean is to its south. It’s the biggest state in the USA, bigger than Texas, California, and Montana all put together!

Alaska is famous for its amazing nature. It has huge mountains, some so tall they tickle the clouds! There are also massive glaciers, which are like rivers of ice that slowly move.

In the summer, the sun can shine all day and all night, which is super weird and cool! It gets very cold in the winter, with lots of snow. This snowy and icy land is home to amazing animals like bears, moose, and even whales in the ocean.

Long, long ago, even before your grandparents’ grandparents were born, people called Indigenous people lived in Alaska. They were the very first people to explore North America! Later, people from a country called Russia came and lived there for a while. Then, the United States bought Alaska from Russia. It became a state a long, long time after that, in 1959. It’s a place with a very old story!

Even though Alaska is big, not many people live there compared to other states. Many people live in a big city called Anchorage. Some people work by catching fish from the ocean, like salmon.

Others work with oil and gas that comes from deep underground. Lots of people also visit Alaska because it’s so beautiful and wild. They come to see the mountains, the animals, and the amazing northern lights!